New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo, feted as 'green,' will be powered by coal, report says
An industrial park being built in Indonesia on the tropical island of Borneo that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment is damaging the environment in an area where endangered species live and migrate
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A vast industrial park being built on the tropical island of Borneo that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment is damaging the environment in an area where endangered animals live and migrate.
The showcase Indonesian project also initially will be partly powered by coal, according to an environmental impact assessment ordered by one of its developers and reviewed by The Associated Press, but not yet made available to the public.
The project championed by President Joko Widodo reflects Indonesia’s struggle to balance profiting from its rich natural resources and meeting its environmental goals.
The environmental impact assessment commissioned by PT Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia, which operates a large part of the current development, describes what is happening in the 15,000 hectare (32,100 acre) area, where plumes of dust mushroom into the sky along the Celebes Sea as heavy equipment fells trees and razes paddy fields.
It says the project's coastal zone is a conservation and migration area for green turtles, hawksbill turtles and killer whales. Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while green turtles are considered endangered.
His wooden boat rocking as excavators and construction trucks roar nearby, fisherman Erwin laments the constant ship traffic delivering supplies to the remote area.
“We are looking for fish further and further away from the beach because
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